Xiaomi ready to enter South-East Asia, could launch in early-2014

Xiaomi has revealed at a recent press meet in Taiwan that it is ready to move beyond China, Taiwan and Hong Kong and suggested South-East Asia as its next destination. The company has not shared detailed plans of launch in South-East Asia but we could see the company release its devices in Singapore as early as Q1, 2014, reports Tech In Asia.

“I’ve been spending a lot of time with potential partners in other countries, in Southeast Asia primarily. We just came back from a trip to Singapore a few weeks ago, and we’re trying to get our operations for Southeast Asia set up as quickly as possible,” Xiaomi’s head of international expansion Hugo Barra noted at this press meet.

When asked about how Xiaomi plans to offer its devices in the new markets, the Barra stated that its sales strategy will depend market-wise and how the consumers want to purchase their devices.

“Our strategy is always to do what our fans want and meet what they expect us to do. So when we enter a new country, we want them to have options. So like here in Taiwan, you can buy a phone either directly from us, pay full price, and choose any carrier you’d like to use. Or you can buy it with a subsidy. This is a good choice. Our philosophy for the rest of the world, including Southeast Asia, is exactly the same. In some countries, carriers act like they do in Taiwan. They’re in the business of selling phones and offering subsidies. In other countries they’re not. So our strategy will vary a little bit from country to country,” he explained.

There are no other details available at this point.

Bonus:A video of Hugo Barra singing and dancing on a Taiwanese pop song